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Babylonian captivity
Babylonian captivity in the history of Israel, the period from the fall of Jerusalem (586 BC) to the reconstruction in Palestine of a new Jewish state (after 538 BC). After the capture of the city by the Babylonians some thousands, probably selected for their prosperity and importance, were deporte...
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Belteshazzar
Belteshazzar , in the Book of Daniel , Babylonian name of the prophet Daniel.
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Berossus
Berossus , 3d cent. BC, Babylonian priest-historian; contemporary of Manetho . His work, in Greek, preserved Mesopotamian myths regarding creation and history. It survives in fragments quoted by Josephus and Eusebius of Caesarea.
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Nebo
Nebo , in the Bible. 1 Town of Moab, near Mt. Pisgah and S of Heshbon. 2 City of Judah of postexilic times. 3 Hebrew name for Babylonian god of knowledge, literature, and agriculture.
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Akkadian
Akkadian , extinct language belonging to the East Semitic subdivision of the Semitic subfamily of the Afroasiatic family of languages (see Afroasiatic languages ). Also called Assyro-Babylonian, Akkadian (or Accadian) was current in ancient Mesopotamia (now Iraq) from about 3000 BC until the time o...
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Anu
Anu , ancient sky god of Sumerian origin, worshiped in Babylonian religion. The son of Apsu (the underworld ocean) and Tiamat (primeval chaos), Anu was king of the great triad of gods, which included the earth god Enlil and the water god Ea.
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Astarte
Astarte , Semitic goddess of fertility and love. She was the most important goddess of the Phoenicians and corresponds to the Babylonian Ishtar and the Greek Aphrodite. She took a dominant place in Middle Eastern religions, and the Jews strictly forbade use of her name. She is referred to in the Bib...
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Babylonia
Babylonia , ancient empire of Mesopotamia. The name is sometimes given to the whole civilization of S Mesopotamia, including the states established by the city rulers of Lagash, Akkad (or Agade), Uruk, and Ur in the 3d millennium BC Historically it is limited to the first dynasty of Babylon establis...
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Bel and the Dragon
Bel and the Dragon customary name for chapter 14 of the Book of Daniel, a passage included in the Septuagint and the Apocrypha . It was written possibly in the 1st cent. BC as a response to Gentile threat to the Jewish culture and state. The first half recounts the story of the Babylonian idol B...
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Ishtar
Ishtar , ancient fertility deity, the most widely worshiped goddess in Babylonian and Assyrian religion. She was worshiped under various names and forms. Most important as a mother goddess and as a goddess of love, Ishtar was the source of all the generative powers in nature and mankind. However, sh...
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